Climate fintech, Nithio, has secured $10 million in new funding for its Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion and Resilience (FAIR) mechanism, which was set up to provide financing to companies that supply clean energy to households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.
The contribution comes from the Netherlands Development Finance Corporation (FMO), which is investing via its Energy Access Fund (AEF). FMO has included this financing in its climate investments.
Explains Dorien Lobeek (AEF portfolio manager at FMO): “By investing in small local borrowers, Nithio contributes to household access to renewable energy, which is at the heart of AEF’s mandate. What’s more, the loans will be denominated in local currency, which is an added bonus.”Â
According to the Dutch investor, the $10 million funding will enable Nithio to extend its financing to distributors of solar home systems and solar appliances for productive use, such as lighting, communication, irrigation and cooling systems for households and businesses.
Through its FAIR mechanism, US-based Nithio “has made 11 investments that have provided over 400,200 people with access to energy and 12,100 people with access to products for businesses”, says FMO. The investment company joins several other impact investors in the facility. These include the American Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and the Shell Foundation.